Friday's Sports in Brief

ATLANTA (AP) The Atlanta Falcons have apologized for having one of their coaches ask an inappropriate question to Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple during the NFL's annual scouting combine this week in Indianapolis.

Apple said in an interview with ComcastSportsNet he was asked, ''So, do you like men?''' He says the question came at the start of an interview with an unidentified Falcons coach.

Falcons coach Dan Quinn said in a statement released to The Associated Press that he has told the assistant coach the question was ''inappropriate and unprofessional.''

Quinn says he has told his entire coaching staff such questions should not be asked. Added Quinn: ''I want to apologize to Eli for this even coming up.''

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs was arrested on a suspended driver's license after investigators say his car hit a curb and he told them he may have been asleep.

Officers responding to a report of a crash in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale followed a fluid trail to a grocery store parking lot where they found Suggs' BMW sedan with fresh damage.

Suggs was not impaired and told officers he possibly fell asleep before the crash, police Sgt. Ben Hoster said.

He was released after being arrested on suspicion of leaving the scene of an accident and driving on a suspended license, Hoster said.

TENNIS

Bud Collins, the tennis historian and American voice of the sport in print and on TV for decades, has died. He was 86.

His wife, Anita Ruthling Klaussen, said in a telephone interview that Collins died at home in Brookline, Massachusetts, after suffering from Parkinson's disease and dementia.

Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1994, Collins was well-known for creative player nicknames and turns of phrase that were as colorful as his trademark bow ties and one-of-a-kind pants created from cloth he collected around the world.

He also paved the way for newspaper reporters moving into broadcasting, becoming a familiar face to U.S. television audiences waking up for ''Breakfast at Wimbledon'' on NBC.

OLYMPICS

DENVER (AP) - An infectious disease specialist from the University of Utah will chair a group formed by the U.S. Olympic Committee to address concerns about the Zika virus and other health issues at the Rio de Janeiro Games this summer.

Carrie Byington will head the group that will establish best practices for those in the U.S. Olympic delegation traveling to Brazil. The mosquito-borne virus is an epidemic in Central and Latin America; the World Health Organization has declared it a global health emergency.

Zika causes mild illness or no symptoms in most people but is believed to be linked to a birth defect that causes babies to be born with unusually small heads.

The USOC panel will develop educational material and be available to offer updates and create plans for athletes who become ill.

SOCCER

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - A report by a law firm into the 2006 World Cup corruption allegations said it found no conclusive evidence of vote-buying by German bidders. However, the report left open the possibility that it did take place.

''We found no evidence of vote-buying but we also cannot rule it out,'' said the report by Freshfields, the firm hired by the German soccer federation to investigate the allegations first made by the Der Spiegel magazine on Oct. 16.

The 361-page report, which sought to explain a complicated chain of financial transactions at the center of the case, indicated that the involvement of former Germany great Franz Beckenbauer went beyond what was previously believed.

The report, presented by Freshfields lawyer Christian Duve at a news conference, said a payment of 6.7 million euros ($7.3 million) made by the German federation to FIFA on April 27, 2005, was ''falsely declared'' by the World Cup organizing committee for an opening gala and that the money had been intended for former Adidas chief Robert Louis-Dreyfus.

That same day, FIFA transferred the money to a Swiss account set up by the late Louis-Dreyfus, and former FIFA president Sepp Blatter was aware of the payment, Freshfields said in its report.

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico reiterated its wish to host the 2026 World Cup and try to become the first country to organize the tournament three times, said Mexican Soccer Federation president Decio De Maria.

Mexico, in 1970 and 1986, is one of five countries to host the event twice. Italy (1934 and 1990), France (1938 and 1998), Brazil (1950 and 2014) and Germany (1974 and 2006) are the others.

Russia will host the 2018 World Cup and Qatar the next in 2022.

This is not the first time that the Mexicans made public their wish to host the World Cup. A couple of years ago, former soccer federation president Justino Compean also said it.

Compean resigned last August and De Maria was appointed as his successor.

AUTO RACING

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Tony Stewart still doesn't know when he'll be back in his car to begin his final NASCAR season.

And yes, the three-time Sprint Cup series champion says he's still done after this year.

Stewart defied his doctors' wishes with a cross-country flight to Nevada this week because he couldn't sit at home any longer.

Rest is necessary for healing from a back injury, but Stewart felt compelled to support his teammates and employees at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend when NASCAR opens its three-race Southwest swing.

Stewart will have X-rays next week in North Carolina on his back, which was injured in a low-speed dirt buggy accident. He had surgery to stabilize his broken vertebra, but his doctors haven't examined his progress or allowed him to begin rehabilitation.